The 93rd Annual AATSP Conference (American Association of Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese) will be held on July 6-9, 2011, in Washington, DC for three days of professional development, networking, exhibits, and immersion experiences. The conference will address the topic “Spanish and Portuguese for a New Era: Advocacy, Policy and Programs”This theme relates well to the conference location and to the changing times in world language education.

Some 200 sessions, workshops, and academic panels focusing on the Spanish and Portuguese languages and Hispanic and Luso-Brazilian literature, film and culture. Many conference sessions and talks will concentrate on the conference theme and provide information about how to promote and strengthen courses and programs to meet the special challenges that tecahers confront.

For the first time in the history of the AATSP, the annual conference will be held in Washington, DC. The nation’s capital promises to be an exciting location for the 93rd conference because the city has much to offer teachers of Spanish and Portuguese.

Many of the historical sites and museums of Washington, DC have a connection to the cultures of the countries and cultures where Spanish or Portuguese are spoken and teachers of either language should be able to collect materials and information to share with their classes.

The majority of the 2011 AATSP Conference sessions and events will be held in the Grand Hyatt Washington Hotel.